My Flintlock

For a long time I wanted to try and build a flintlock rifle. About ten years ago I tackled the job and this is the result. This is a genuine "fake" no question about it. It is .45cal. and styled after the "Carolina" rifles as I liked the trim, lean look. It has a 42" Green Mt. barrel and a Stiler lock. I picked out my stick of curly maple and picked one that was partially carved with the barrel grove and ramrod hole precut. I figured this was going to be hard enough and needed a little help to begin. All the furniture is iron and came rough cast so lots of finish work there. Had to thread and fit the breech plug. Had to cut a total of nine dovetails in the barrel for the pipes, lugs, and sights. I made my own walnut stain from walnut hulls. The finish is many coats of hand rubbed linseed oil.

I got the stick, barrel and all the parts and pieces from Golden Age Arms Co. in Ashley Ohio. The owner James R. Johnson was a tremendous help giving me a lot of advice on my first build. Cost of all materials was right around $500.00.

It took me all winter to complete the task learning many new things along the way but it was a labor of love and I am pleased with the finished product. It shoots real good too after a little work on the touch hole. It doesn't like too much powder in the priming pan. Unbelievable accuracy or so it seemed to me.

My most glaring error is in the profile of the trigger guard but by the time I saw my mistake the stock was already cut to handle this profile. Better luck next time.

I am a "Rock Lock" shooter. When you consider Perc caps are as modern as ball caps and canvas shoes, you have arrived. Once you have tripped the trigger on a fine flinter you are hooked. I own a number of fine flinters, but I could not put one together my self. Fine work and the Siler lock is always a good choice. I rather like your rifles style. The early Virginia trigger guard makes a personal statement. Note the old timmers rifles did not always follow one school of builder. I have a nice rifle that includes Maryland, Virginia and East Tenn, style. Nice work.

I reckon you would concider me more of a flint shooter being I own 8 flinters and run through as much as 100 ponds of powder a year! Good looking flinter and a real nice stock on it. I do Rev War re=enactments and most want to build/owm the fanciest flinter they can build/buy. However if you were to go back to the age of flinters here in teh states, you would find fancy guns in well settled areas but in the wilderness, they were mostly plain jane guns or what many call barn guns. Reason for that is most settling the west were poorer people so they would have guns that were fuctional, accurate, and did not cost an arm and a leg. Now when some one with means came west, he would be carrying the fanciest gun he could but.

Keep on building guns. They always say the first one is your hardest, it is your learning gun. you did goood on your first one,real good IMHO.

Thanks you all for the kind words. They help more than you might think.

Yes I carved the molding along the ramrod. Saw that feature on another rifle and really liked it.

I am much more comfortable working the wood than working the metal.

Just spent six hours waiting my turn in the ER. My incision had started bleeding and the surgeon was busy doing his surgeon thing and said go to the ER. Only bad thing about that is the waiting and waiting and waiting. They cauterized the place that was bleeding with Silver Nitrate and sent me on my way saying keep it elevated, ha. Just another of life's little set backs.

Want to do a flint pistol and a pipe hatchet one of these days maybe I will get up the nerve.